News Release
Force Used by Police on Man Armed with Knife was Reasonably Necessary; No Basis to Lay Charges in Peterborough Case
Case Number: 18-OCI-342
Shortly before 2 a.m. on December 1, 2018, a woman called 911 reporting that her son had stabbed her with a knife. Peterborough Police Service officers were dispatched to the Dublin Street residence. Inside the residence, the son was located armed with a knife. When the man ignored demands to drop the knife and instead advanced on an officer, he was kicked away. A conducted energy weapon was deployed, but it malfunctioned. When the man proceeded to stab himself in the neck, an officer deployed his pepper spray. The man was arrested and taken to hospital by paramedics. The Interim Director of the Special Investigations Unit, Joseph Martino, has determined there are no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges in relation to this incident.
Full Director’s Report (with Incident Narrative, Evidence, and Analysis & Director’s Decision):https://www.siu.on.ca/en/directors_reports.php.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials (police officers as well as special constables with the Niagara Parks Commission and peace officers with the Legislative Protective Service) that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person. All investigations are conducted by SIU investigators who are civilians. Under the Special Investigations Unit Act, the Director of the SIU must
- consider whether the official has committed a criminal offence in connection with the incident under investigation
- depending on the evidence, cause a criminal charge to be laid against the official where grounds exist for doing so, or close the file without any charges being laid
- publicly report the results of its investigations